Storms batter Britain, bringing flooding and power cuts

Saturday, December 28, 2013 - 01:15

Dec. 28 - Gales and rain return to the UK, causing more disruption of transport and power cuts. Sarah Toms reports.

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Another wave of severe storms batter the UK, leaving more than 6,000 homes without electricity.
Many people have had no power since Christmas Eve.
About 50 flood warnings are in place in England, Wales and Scotland.
Rail services have been disrupted and roads have been closed because of uprooted trees.
Prime Minister David Cameron visited the village of Yalding in Kent, which has experienced some of the most severe flooding over the holidays.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON, SAYING:
"Well, we need to fix that. There are a lot of things that need to be fixed. We need the insurance companies to get round so the loss adjusters can help house holders. We need the council to get round with skips so people can get their carpets and their furniture removed. We need to get the power back on. And then we need to learn the lessons. We are seeing these events take place more often. Now the government is spending more on flood defences over the next four years than over the last four years, there is a lot of flood defences being built. Something like 80 000 houses were protected this time, but we've got to do more. And so we need to work with the Environment Agency and see what more we can do to learn any lessons from this flood and from other floods. But right now the priority is help people recover from the terrible shock of this happening to them on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day."
But many villagers were angry that they're still without power five days on.

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